So you are thinking about getting into Direct Sales, huh? Well here is a little advice from someone that is in it, Direct Sales isn’t for everyone, I know it might seem like it is easy and someone might tell you that you could get rich from it and that if you build a team that you can just sit back and collect a commissions check, well that isn’t the case. It takes work, and before you even get started you need to ask yourself if you are willing to put in the time it takes to be successful. If you decide that you are able to give yourself and your business the dedicated time that it requires you need to figure out what company you want to join. There are hundreds, maybe thousands out there, anywhere from weight loss, to jewelry. So how do I choose? Well you need to ask yourself what is my passion, is this product something I can believe in? Do some research into the type of product you want to sell, then narrow it down to the companies that sell that type of product you choose. Once you get it narrowed down to say five or less, you want to study the five companies, see how long they have been in business, check their pricepoint (a friend of mine always says, if you can buy it for less at Walmart it should be a big red flag), also when you are checking out a company, read their mission statement, order a few pieces from each company and check out the quality, now do a search on the companies website and read their compensation plan, most plans are confusing, but some key words to look for are volume, and how they pay for downline, usually they pay so much for the first two or three levels and then a smaller percentage for total team volume. So you narrowed down your companies to one that decided to jump into, now you need to find a sponsor, some people just throw caution to the wind and sign up under the first person that responds to them, and while this can work, it isn’t always the best way. I suggest getting to know your sponsor before you even sign up, talk to them on the phone and create a report with them, you want your sponsor to be someone that you feel comfortable asking questions to and them not seeming like they are too busy to help you, which let’s face it if they have a team they really don’t have much time to spend with you, but if they put forth the effort to make you feel comfortable and they are knowledgeable in the company then that is the one I would look for.

Now you signed up and if you are like most people you got the smallest kit that the company offered because that is “all you could afford,” this is a great way to get you into the company, but it does put you at a disadvantage. You might ask yourself why, I got started and this is what the company offered, why the disadvantage? Well, in our company the small starter kit consists of 35 pieces, most companies are similar just enough to get you product, and once you receive your kit the first thing your sponsor is going to suggest you do is have a launch party, which is where you introduce yourself to your friends, family, neighbors, etc. that you are the newest rep. for the company that you just joined and you would like them to come check out your product, now some companies are cash and carry, some are catalog, and some are website ordering, but all of them you have to have some product on hand, so when you have your launch party you are only showing your new customers a very limited selection, and most customers like to have a good variety to choose from, plus you are only showing them a small portion of what the company has to offer, now I am not saying you have to have everything on hand for every party, that would be impossible, but you do want to have a good selection for them to choose from. Now after you have your launch party you need to decide if this is still something that you want to do and are willing to put the commitment into, I say this now because now is the time that I recommend that you decide if you want to start team building and also if you want to reinvest some of the money that you made from your sales. If you do want to move forward from here I suggest at least replacing what you have sold and I always suggest increasing your inventory by at least 10% more than what you have sold, for example, say you sold 10 pieces at a party you would order 11 pieces when you place your order, 10 plus 1 which is 10% more than what you sold, and if you continue to do that everytime you order your inventory will continue to grow.

You decided to team build, well before you just jump into recruiting and posting ads all over social networks, local newspapers, shopping malls, grocery stores, etc. saying join my team, make sure that you are ready for this, team building can be very rewarding and you can make amazing money building a team, but don’t be fooled thinking it is easy and you don’t have to work at it, this is hardest part of the business, getting people to believe in your company and even more believe in you, because you aren’t just selling your company to them you are selling yourself. I tell people all of the time, anyone can sell the product, because the product sells itself, the hard part is getting people to buy you, to buy the idea that you believe in yourself enough that you can help them start their business, and will be there along the way for them. The first thing I always tell people is to study the company, and learn about everything in the policies and procedures to the compensation plan and everything in between, I am not saying you have to memorize every detail of the company, but you should have a good working knowledge of the company so that if someone asks you a question you can either give them the answer or can find it in a timely matter for them. You have to be ready for people to tell you no, more people will tell you no then will ever say yes, ten times more people would be more accurate and you have to be able to handle the rejection. The key is the number of people you talk to, don’t box yourself in, you have to be willing to reach out to people and share your opportunity with them, you have to figure out a way to convince them that this is an opportunity and not just another get rich quick spam thing that they are not interested because there is no get rich quick things. I always suggest getting people on the phone and having an actual conversation with them, or better yet talk to them in person. If you are uncomfortable doing this, practice with family and friends until you become more comfortable doing it. Trust me though, once you start recruiting you need to keep to a schedule and routine about your recruiting, even if you are not getting any interest in it at all, keep pushing, even if you are constantly getting told no, keep pushing, because the only way you will lose is if you don’t get up anymore, when you decide that you lost, even if you are frustrated that people keep telling you no, or they can’t right now, don’t let them or the next person you talk to see that frustration because that will almost surely be a no, because why would they want to sign up with you if you aren’t even happy doing what you do?

You have a couple people sign up, first off congratulations, you are now a sponsor, but the problem is some of your sign ups joined and didn’t do anything with it, they ordered initially but never again. You reached out to them, you did everything your company and sponsor told you to do when you become a sponsor, but they just don’t seem to respond, the don’t answer the phone when you call, they don’t return emails or messages or if they do they say they are just too busy and don’t have the time that they thought they did to put into their business and this shocks you. You ask yourself, “what did I do wrong?” Well I will be the first to tell you that you probably didn’t do anything wrong, their want hasn’t become a need for them and their business isn’t high enough on their priority list. It happens to everyone, most of the time it has absolutely nothing to do with you or the type of sponsor you are, life just got in the way and there is nothing you can do about it except go out and find another one that could be your next rockstar.

You have created a little team, you have found the ones that didn’t stay and you replaced them with new people and guess what? You found yourself a rockstar! You have someone that has been selling like mad and has started building her own team. This is great, now you have someone that is willing to do the work to be successful on your team. You are now a leader. Being a leader has responsibilities, you never want your team to see anything negative come from you, especially on social media. Your name has now become part of your brand, your job is to not only create new leaders, but to uphold your name and reputation. Don’t post some political or religious view on your Facebook wall, twitter, instagram, etc., because while some will agree with your idea, some will not, and you could rub them the wrong way and it could hurt your image. Now onto creating leaders. Your team will do what you do, not what you tell them to do. For example, if you want your team to go out and do parties, but you don’t do them yourself your team will not do them. The key to being a good leader is to create other leaders. Lead by example. Show them exactly how you do it and how they can do the same. The reason you want good leaders is so that when someone on their team needs help they will go to their leader instead of everyone on your team coming to you.

Last but not least is to never stop building your team and to never stop selling your product. Too many times in companies people get complacent, they made some good money from their team and don’t really want to do the shows and work the sales end anymore. I want to tell you that this is a mistake, if you don’t continue to build your team your team will start to dwindle, I have seen it quite a few times where the consultant had a good team going, but then got tired of the work and didn’t have enough leaders to keep it going and it dwindled to almost nothing. Then when they noticed that it was dying they tried to step it up and get it going again, but most of the time it was too late. Same with sales, if you lose your sales base and your repeat customers it is very difficult to get them back. I am not saying you need to keep selling like you did in the beginning and recruit like did when you started, but you always want to keep those channels open along with good communication with your team. Be the leader and the sales person that you can be and you will have success.

I hope this helps with your decision to get into and stay in the business of Direct Sales. The possibilities are unlimited and you can have great success in it if you choose to and only if you choose to take the necessary steps and dedication needed to have success in this business.